originally posted: September 26, 2001 | by chelsie

The buttonbush (Cephalanthus occidentalis) [sef a lan' thus ok' si den tal' is] grow in the secret, swampy places in eastern North America. These are the haunts of wood ducks and warblers. Seldom do people see the buttonbush in bloom for they flower when the summer rains have inundated the shrub swamps. Few ever venture into the water and muck. But then, again, we weren't invited. This is probably just fine with the attendees that no human interlopes on the butterfly banquet. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 19, 2001 | by chelsie

Ladybugs or ladybird beetles (Family: Coccinellidae) [coc si nell' i day] are considered beneficial insects. Dining on aphids or mealybugs, these cute little critters are on the side of the gardener. But every family has its black sheep and this family has two serious contenders for that title. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 12, 2001 | by chelsie

The Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor) is a small creature. A fully grown adult is no larger than 3 millimeters and looks like a mosquito. But it is the tiny maggot that is responsible for the damage. In the U.S. alone, these maggots can cause $100 million in wheat crop losses. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: September 5, 2001 | by chelsie

In Kerala, India, spring arrives in September after the season of the monsoons. The people celebrate Onam, the rice harvest festival. It is a time to revel in the bounties of nature. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 29, 2001 | by chelsie

The corn earworm (Helicoverpa zea) [hel i cov' erp a zee] is not a pretty baby. Actually, it is a rather disgusting creature to come across when husking fresh corn for dinner. The adult stage, a moth, is not much prettier. This caterpillar is also a common pest on tomatoes and cotton. It has probably been a pest since these plants were first domesticated by Native Americans thousands of years ago. Today, farmers lose 100 million dollars a year to ruined corn crops and the cost of insecticides to control the earworms. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 22, 2001 | by chelsie

The giant Amazon water lily (Victoria amazonica) is a clever plant for getting what it wants. It wants only two things, to survive and to reproduce. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 15, 2001 | by chelsie

The giant carrion flower (Stapelia gigantea) [sta pel' ee a gi gan tee' a] is a succulent from the arid places of southern Africa. The flower makes you look twice, but sniff only once. The flower appears to be a light-colored starfish out of the water and smells like something that been dead for a while. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 8, 2001 | by chelsie

In Nicaragua and Belize, they are called the Wiwi Laca. They are the scourge of the surface gardener for these are subterranean gardeners. They grow that which lives in the dark. Ants in the genera, Atta and Acromyrmex, use fresh leaves and flowers to nourish their garden of fungi. And some of the species of fungi can no longer survive without the ant gardeners. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: August 1, 2001 | by chelsie

Passionflowers (Genus: Passiflora) are the exclusive hosts (the plant a caterpillar must eat in order to survive) to over seventy species of butterflies known collectively as the Heliconids. Although, passionflowers are poisonous to most herbivores, the Heliconid caterpillars can sequester chemicals from the passionflower that make them distasteful to predators. But too many caterpillars can seriously jeopardize the passionflower's ability to flower and reproduce. It appears that the plants counter-attack. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 25, 2001 | by chelsie

Willows (Salix species) are the host plants (caterpillar food plants) of the Viceroy butterfly (Limenitis archippus) [li men' i tis arc' ip pus]. When other insects have been poisoned by the salicylic acid in willows, the Viceroy's young are happily chewing away at the leaves. The caterpillars sequester the salicylic acid within their bodies to use as a chemical defense later on in life. Salicylic acid is extremely bitter and upsets the stomachs of birds or other predators. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 18, 2001 | by chelsie

Willows (Salix species) [say' licks] have evolved to live in moist or swampy places where insects abound. They have also had to evolve defenses against the hordes of insects that wish only to eat their leaves. Among other things, willows produce salicylic acid, the main chemical of aspirin. [Click here to read more...]

originally posted: July 15, 2001 | by chelsie

The Twin-spurred Nepenthes, Nepenthes bicalcurata, is an insectivorous vine native to Borneo. At the end of the leaf is a tendril; at the end of the tendril is a fluid filled ascidium (pitcher). The pitcher has what appear to be two fangs under the lid. These fangs often drip with nectar created to attract hungry insects. It is a wickedly seductive plant and it is a death trap for most insects. Most, but not all. The tendril of the N. bicalcurata is hollow and provides a snug home for Colobopsis ants. [Click here to read more...]